Comparison of seasonal patterns of growth, voluntary feed intake and plasma hormone concentrations in young sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) and red deer (Cervus elaphus)
- 1 August 1995
- journal article
- animals
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in The Journal of Agricultural Science
- Vol. 125 (1), 109-124
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859600074566
Abstract
During 1991/93, young sambar (5 months old) and red deer (7 months old) were confined indoors in individual pens in New Zealand and fed a pelleted concentrate diet (12 MJ ME/kgDM; 2·9% N) ad libitum for 21 months. Seasonal patterns of voluntary feed intake (VF1), liveweight gain (LWG), scrotal circumference and plasma concentrations of prolactin (PRL), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T) and progesterone (P) were compared using five stags and three hinds of each species.Red deer showed a strong pattern of seasonality, with high VFI and LWG in summer and low VF1 and LWG in winter and with peak plasma T and scrotal circumference in stags in early autumn. Compared with red deer, sambar showed weaker seasonal patterns of VFI and LWG, with maximum values in autumn and minimumvalues in spring. Over a complete 12-month cycle, sambar deer gained similar amounts of liveweight to red deer but consumed substantially less feed, thus demonstrating a more efficient conversion of feed tobodyweight. Metabolizable energy (ME) requirements for both maintenance and gain were substantially lower for sambar than for red deer. Scrotal circumference and plasma T values in sambar stags attained their highest values during late autumn, winter and spring, but with a lower magnitude than peak values for red stags. Plasma PRL concentrations were seasonal in both species, with highest values in summer and lowest values in winter. Rapid increase of plasma P was first detected in red hinds in autumn and sambar hinds in spring when they weighed 96 and 90 kg respectively, and were aged 17 and 14 months. Rapid increase of plasma T was first detected in red stags in early autumn and sambar stags in mid-autumn whenthey weighed 117 and 101 kg, and were aged 16 and 15 months respectively.It was concluded that sambar deer had endogenous cycles of VFI, body growth and hormone secretion, which were of lesser amplitude and with different seasonality from those of red deer. Young sambar deer were more efficient feed converters than red deer, and attained sexual maturity at an earlier age and lower liveweight.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- General biology of sambar deer (Cervus unicolot) in captivityNew Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1994
- Seasonal patterns of basal and GnRH-induced LH, FSH and testosterone secretion in Eld's deer stags (Cervus eldi thamin)Reproduction, 1993
- Control of Food Intake in Domesticated DeerPublished by Elsevier ,1991
- Plasma progesterone concentrations in cycling and in ovariectomised red deer hinds: The effect of progesterone supplementation and adrenal stimulationAnimal Reproduction Science, 1990
- Monitoring ovarian function and pregnancy in Eld's deer (Cervus eldi thamin) by evaluating urinary steroid metabolite excretionReproduction, 1990
- Effects of subcutaneous melatonin implants on reproductive seasonality of farmed fallow deer (Dama dama)Reproduction, 1988
- Hormonal changes around oestrus of farmed fallow deer, Dama damaReproduction, 1986
- RADIOIMMUNOASSAY FOR PORCINE PROLACTIN: PLASMA LEVELS DURING LACTATION, SUCKLING AND WEANING AND AFTER TRH ADMINISTRATIONActa Endocrinologica, 1978
- Effects of Pinealectomy of Rams on Secretory Profiles of Luteinizing Hormone, Testosterone, Prolactin and CortisolNeuroendocrinology, 1978
- Radioimmunoassay of LH and Estrogen During the Estrous Cycle of the EweBiology of Reproduction, 1970